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COVID-19 misinformation

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After the initial outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), conspiracy theories and misinformation spread online regarding the origin and scale of the virus.[1][2] Various social media posts claimed the virus was a bio-weapon with a patented vaccine, a population control scheme, or the result of a spy operation.[3][4][5] Facebook, Twitter and Google said they were working to address misinformation.[6] In a blogpost, Facebook stated they would remove content flagged by leading global health organizations and local authorities that violate its content policy on misinformation leading to "physical harm".[7]

On 2 February, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a "massive infodemic", citing an over-abundance of reported information, accurate and false, about the virus that "makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it." The WHO stated that the high demand for timely and trustworthy information has incentivised the creation of a direct WHO 24/7 myth-busting hotline where its communication and social media teams have been monitoring and responding to misinformation through its website and social media pages.[8][9][10]

Eating bats

Some media outlets, including Daily Mail and RT, spread misinformation by promoting a video showing a young Chinese woman biting into a bat, falsely suggesting it was shot in Wuhan and that the cause of the outbreak was due to locals eating bats.[11][12] The widely circulated video features unrelated footage of Chinese travel vlogger Wang Mengyun eating bat soup in the island country Palau in 2016 as part of an online travel programme.[11][12][13][14] Mengyun stated in a Weibo post that she was inundated with abuse, and death threats, and that she only wished to showcase local Palauan cuisine.[13][14]

Human made

Biological weapons

In January 2020, the BBC published an article about coronavirus misinformation, citing two 24 January articles from the The Washington Times which claimed the virus was part of a Chinese biological weapons program, based at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).[1][15] The Washington Post later published an article debunking the conspiracy theory, citing U.S. experts who explained why the Institute was not suitable for bioweapon research, that most countries had abandoned bioweapons as fruitless, and that there was no evidence that the virus was genetically engineered.[16]

In February 2020, U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) suggested that the virus may have been a Chinese bioweapon[17] even though his statements have been proven false by numerous medical experts.[18] In February 2020, The Financial Times reported from virus expert and global co-lead coronavirus investigator, Trevor Bedford, who said that "There is no evidence whatsoever of genetic engineering that we can find", and that, "The evidence we have is that the mutations [in the virus] are completely consistent with natural evolution".[19] Bedford further explained, "The most likely scenario, based on genetic analysis, was that the virus was transmitted by a bat to another mammal between 20–70 years ago. This intermediary animal — not yet identified — passed it on to its first human host in the city of Wuhan in late November or early December 2019".[19] 

Spy operation

Some conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and fake news websites have alleged that the coronavirus was stolen from a Canadian virus research lab by Chinese scientists, citing a news article by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in July 2019.[20] The CBC claimed their early report was distorted by misinformation, and that the conspiracy theory had "no factual basis".[21][22][23]

Population control scheme

Supporters of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory and the anti-vax community falsely claimed the outbreak was a population control scheme created by Pirbright Institute in England, and by former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates.[1][24]

Sam Hyde

A hoax post on Facebook claimed that Sam Hyde, who it described as an international biological weapons terrorist, was behind the outbreak. Hyde, a comedian, had previously been blamed for over a dozen mass shootings as part of a long-running meme. [25]

Wuhan Institute of Virology

Accidental leak

During January and February 2020, the Institute was subject to concerns that it was the source of the outbreak through accidental leakage,[26] which it publicly denied.[27] In February 2020, the South China Morning Post reported that one of the Institute's lead researchers, Shi Zhengli, was the particular focus of personal attacks in Chinese social media who alleged her work on bat-based viruses as the source of the virus, leading Shi to post: "I swear with my life, [the virus] has nothing to do with the lab", and when asked by the SCMP to comment on the attacks, Shi responded: "My time must be spent on more important matters".[28] Caixin reported Shi made further public statements against "perceived tinfoil-hat theories about the new virus's source", quoting her as saying: "The novel 2019 coronavirus is nature punishing the human race for keeping uncivilized living habits. I, Shi Zhengli, swear on my life that it has nothing to do with our laboratory".[29]

Misinformation aside, concerns on accidental leakage by the WIV remain.[26] In 2017, U.S. molecular biologist Richard H. Ebright, expressed caution when the WIV was expanded to become mainland China's first biosafety level 4 (BSL–4) laboratory, noting previous escapes of the SARS virus at other Chinese laboratories.[30] While Ebright refuted several conspiracy theories regarding the WIV (e.g. bioweapons research, that the virus was engineered), he told BBC China that this did not represent the possibility of the virus being "completely ruled out" from entering the population due to a laboratory accident.[26]

Doxing of employees

On 29 January, financial news website and blog ZeroHedge suggested, without evidence, that a scientist at the Wuhan Institute of Virology created the COVID-19 strain responsible for the coronavirus outbreak. Zerohedge listed the full contact details of the scientist supposedly responsible, a practice known as doxing, by including the scientist's name, photo and phone number, suggesting to readers that they "pay [the Chinese scientist] a visit" if they wanted to know "what really caused the coronavirus pandemic".[31][20] Twitter later permanently suspended the blog's account for violating its platform manipulation policy.[32] Zerohedge has since claimed the article did not claim the virus was human-made and that it only publicised publicly available details of the scientist.[33]

Resident Evil logo meme

Logo of Umbrella Corporation

In January 2020, Buzzfeed News also reported on an internet meme/conspiracy theory of a link between the logo of the Wuhan Institute of Virology and "Umbrella Corporation", the agency that made the virus that starts the zombie apocalypse in the Resident Evil franchise.[20] The theory also saw a link between "Racoon" (the main city in Resident Evil), and an anagram of "Corona" (the name of the virus).[34] The popularity of this theory attracted the attention of Snopes, who proved it as false showing that the logo was not from the Institute, but from Shanghai Ruilan Bao Hu San Biotech Limited, located approximately 500 miles (800 km) away in Shanghai.[34]

Size of the outbreak

On 24 January, a video circulated online appearing to be of a nurse in Hubei province describing a far more dire situation in Wuhan than purported by Chinese officials. The video claims that more than 90,000 people have been infected with the virus in China alone.[35] The video attracted millions of views on various social media platforms and was mentioned in numerous online reports. However, the BBC noted that contrary to its English subtitles in one of the video's existing versions, the woman does not claim to be either a nurse or a doctor in the video and that her suit and mask do not match the ones worn by medical staff in Hubei.[1] The video's claim of 90,000 infected cases is noted to be 'unsubstantiated'.[1][35]

Evangelical leaders Frank Amedia (a former campaign advisor) and Stephen Strang (Charisma’s CEO) have promoted the idea that the actual death toll is in the tens of thousands rather than the officially given figure. The information was supposedly supplied by Chinese Christians, who also claimed that “swarms” of people were being supernaturally cured in house churches. Amedia also repeated the aforementioned claim about the virus being created as a biological weapon. [36]

Misrepresented World Population Project map

In early February a decade-old map illustrating a hypothetical viral outbreak published by the World Population Project (part of the University of Southampton) was misappropriated by a number of Australian media news outlets (including The Sun, Daily Mail and Metro) which claimed the map represented the 2020 corona virus outbreak. This misinformation was then spread via the social media accounts of the same media outlets, and while some outlets later removed the map, the BBC reported that a number of news sites still have not retracted the map.[37]

Vaccine and treatment

Vaccines existed

Conspiracy theorists have claimed the virus was known and that a vaccine was already available. Politifact and Factcheck.org noted that no vaccine currently exists for COVID-19. The patents cited by various social media posts reference existing patents for genetic sequences and vaccines for other strains of coronavirus such as the SARS coronavirus.[38][3] The WHO reported as of 5 February 2020 that amid news reports of "breakthrough" drugs being discovered to treat people infected with the virus, there were no known effective treatments;[39] this included antibiotics and herbal remedies not being useful.[40]

Non-vaccine treatments

Chinese health authorities promote the use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) against the disease. Vaguely hopeful reports of studies from official facilities have translated into Shuanghuanglian-buying crazes and an official decree to put all of Wuhan's patients on TCM.[41][42][43]

Some QAnon proponents and anti-vaxxers have promoted gargling "Miracle Mineral Supplement" (actually an industrial bleach) as a way of preventing or curing the disease.[44]

In February 2020, televangelist Jim Bakker promoted a colloidal silver solution sold on his website, as a remedy for coronavirus COVID-19; naturopath Sherrill Sellman, a guest on his show, falsely stated that it "hasn't been tested on this strain of the coronavirus, but it's been tested on other strains of the coronavirus and has been able to eliminate it within 12 hours."[45]

African resistance

Beginning on 11 February, reports - quickly spread via Facebook - implied that a Cameroonian student in China had been completely cured of the virus due to his African genetics. While a student was successfully treated, other media sources have noted that no evidence implies Africans are more resistant to the virus and labeled such claims as false information.[46]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "China coronavirus: Misinformation spreads online about origin and scale". BBC News Online. 30 January 2020.
  2. ^ Josh Taylor (31 January 2020). "Bat soup, dodgy cures and 'diseasology': the spread of coronavirus misinformation". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  3. ^ a b Jessica McDonald (24 January 2020). "Social Media Posts Spread Bogus Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory". factcheck.org.
  4. ^ "Here's A Running List Of Disinformation Spreading About The Coronavirus". Buzzfeed News.
  5. ^ Ghaffary, Shirin; Heilweil, Rebecca (31 January 2020). "How tech companies are scrambling to deal with coronavirus hoaxes". Vox.
  6. ^ Richtel, Matt (6 February 2020). "W.H.O. Fights a Pandemic Besides Coronavirus: an 'Infodemic'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  7. ^ "As coronavirus misinformation spreads on social media, Facebook removes posts". Reuters. 1 February 2020. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  8. ^ World Health Organization (2020). Novel Coronavirus (‎2019-nCoV)‎: situation report, 13 (Report). World Health Organization. hdl:10665/330778.
  9. ^ "Coronavirus: UN health agency moves fast to tackle 'infodemic'; Guterres warns against stigmatization". UN News. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  10. ^ "WHO Says There's No Effective Coronavirus Treatment Yet". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  11. ^ a b James Palmer (27 January 2020). "Don't Blame Bat Soup for the Wuhan Virus". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  12. ^ a b Josh Taylor (30 January 2020). "Bat soup, dodgy cures and 'diseasology': the spread of coronavirus misinformation". The Guardian.
  13. ^ a b Marnie O’Neill (29 January 2020). "Chinese influencer Wang Mengyun, aka 'Bat soup girl' breaks silence". news.au.
  14. ^ a b Gaynor, Gerren Keith (28 January 2020). "Coronavirus: Outrage over Chinese blogger eating 'bat soup' sparks apology". Fox News Channel.
  15. ^ "China coronavirus: Misinformation spreads online". BBC News Online. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  16. ^ "Experts debunk fringe theory linking China's coronavirus to weapons research". The Washington Post. 29 January 2020. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  17. ^ Zack Budryk (9 February 2020). "Chinese ambassador on Cotton coronavirus comments: 'It's very harmful to stir up' unsubstantiated rumors". The Hill. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  18. ^ Tara Subramaniam (18 February 2020). "Fact-checking Tom Cotton's claims about the coronavirus". CNN.
  19. ^ a b Clive Cookson (14 February 2020). "Coronavirus was not genetically engineered in a Wuhan lab, says expert". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  20. ^ a b c Broderick, Ryan (31 January 2020). "A Pro-Trump Blog Doxed A Chinese Scientist It Falsely Accused Of Creating The Coronavirus As A Bioweapon". BuzzFeed News.
  21. ^ Yates, Karen; Pauls, Jeff. "Online claims that Chinese scientists stole coronavirus from Winnipeg lab have 'no factual basis'". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Event occurs at 27 January 2020.
  22. ^ Yates, Karen; Pauls, Jeff. "Chinese translation: 中国科学家从温尼伯实验室中窃取 冠状病毒的网络传言'没有事实根据'". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Event occurs at 27 January 2020.
  23. ^ Saranac Hale Spencer (28 January 2020). "Coronavirus Wasn't Sent by 'Spy' From Canada". Factcheck.org.
  24. ^ Broderick, Ryan (23 January 2020). "QAnon Supporters And Anti-Vaxxers Are Spreading A Hoax That Bill Gates Created The Coronavirus". BuzzFeed News.
  25. ^ "Comedian Sam Hyde Not 'Behind' Spread of Coronavirus".
  26. ^ a b c "[TRANSLATED] Wuhan Pneumonia: "Wuhan Virus Research Institute" in the eyes of the outbreak and fake news storm". BBC News China. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  27. ^ Yang Rui; Feng Yuding; Zhao Jinchao; Matthew Walsh (7 February 2020). "Wuhan Virology Lab Deputy Director Again Slams Coronavirus Conspiracies". Caixin. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  28. ^ Stephen Chen (6 February 2020). "Coronavirus: bat scientist's cave exploits offer hope to beat virus 'sneakier than Sars'". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  29. ^ Yang Rui; Feng Yuding; Zhao Jinchao; Matthew Walsh (7 February 2020). "Wuhan Virology Lab Deputy Director Again Slams Coronavirus Conspiracies". Caixin. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  30. ^ David Cyranoski (22 February 2017). "Inside the Chinese lab poised to study world's most dangerous pathogens". Nature. 592 (7642): 399–400. Bibcode:2017Natur.542..399C. doi:10.1038/nature.2017.21487.
  31. ^ Peters, Jay (31 January 2020). "Markets blogger Zero Hedge suspended from Twitter after doxxing a Chinese scientist". The Verge.
  32. ^ Datoo, Siraj (31 January 2020). "Zero Hedge Permanently Suspended From Twitter for 'Harassment'". Bloomberg. Retrieved 7 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  33. ^ "Zerohedge Suspended On Twitter". ZeroHedge. 2 February 2020. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
  34. ^ a b Dan Evon (29 January 2020). "Is the 'Umbrella Corporation' Logo Oddly Similar to a Wuhan Biotech Lab's?". Snopes. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  35. ^ a b Ghaffary, Shirin (31 January 2020). "Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube struggle with coronavirus hoaxes". Vox. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  36. ^ "Stephen Strang and Frank Amedia Promote Coronavirus Conspiracy Theory".
  37. ^ team, Reality Check (19 February 2020). "How a misleading coronavirus map went global". BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  38. ^ Washington, District of Columbia 1100 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 1300B; Dc 20036. "PolitiFact – No, there is no vaccine for the Wuhan coronavirus". @politifact. Retrieved 7 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  39. ^ "WHO: 'no known effective' treatments for new coronavirus". Reuters. 5 February 2020. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
  40. ^ "Dispelling the myths around the new coronavirus outbreak". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  41. ^ Wee, Sui-Lee (5 February 2020). "In Coronavirus, China Weighs Benefits of Buffalo Horn and Other Remedies". The New York Times.
  42. ^ "新冠肺炎治疗：讲究实证的西医和自我定位的中药" [Treating the novel conoravirus: the empirical Western medicine and the self-positioning Chinese medicine]. BBC News (in Simplified Chinese). 14 February 2020.
  43. ^ "中医来了！8个防治"协定方" 辅助治疗新型冠状病毒感染肺炎" [Here comes Chinese medicine! 8 "agreed-on prescriptions" help prevent and treat the new coronavirus pneumonia]. CCTV News. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  44. ^ Sommer, Will (28 January 2020). "QAnon-ers' Magic Cure for Coronavirus: Just Drink Bleach!". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 10 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  45. ^ Moyler, Hunter. "TELEVANGELIST SELLS $125 'SILVER SOLUTION' AS CURE FOR CORONAVIRUS". Newsweek.com. Newsweek. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  46. ^ "Black people aren't more resistant to novel coronavirus". AFP Fact Check. 12 February 2020. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
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